1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to golf club putter heads and more specifically to a monolithic ceramic golf club putter head which is cosmetically appealing and which because of its extremely low ceramic material density, permits selected weighting of the heel and toe portions thereof for improved performance. Novelty of the present invention also resides in its method of manufacture which completely obviates labor intensive machining, thereby reducing the ultimate cost of the completed part.
2. Prior Art
Two of the most important features of a golf club putter head are its appearance and its weight distribution. The cosmetic appearance of a golf club putter head is important to the user for obvious reasons. However, perhaps more importantly, the aesthetic appearance of a golf club putter head is especially significant to the manufacturer thereof, because it is perhaps its aesthetic appearance, more than any other factor which affects the consumer's level of acceptance of a golf club. The use of a highly reflective polished surface is one aspect of a conventional putter head that is considered by many to be aesthetically pleasing. Accordingly, many conventional golf club putter heads utilize a metal face that is polished or otherwise finished in a manner to provide a reflective surface. However, the cost of providing such a surface, typically makes it too expensive to give other surfaces of the golf club putter head the polished appearance of the face, thereby resulting in some reduction in the aesthetic appeal of the golf club putter head. More specifically, in most conventional golf club putter heads, the rear surface thereof, as well as the top and sole surfaces thereof may be painted with a distinct color, such as black and the like, and be provided with a non-polished finish which is less expensive to fabricate, but unfortunately detracts from the overall appearance of the golf club. Furthermore, the aesthetic appearance of conventional golf club putter heads normally deteriorates rapidly with use because metal surface putters, as well as putters made of other relatively soft materials, become rapidly worn when subjected repeatedly striking the hard surface of a conventional golf ball. Also, normal wear resulting from frictional engagement between the surface of a golf club putter and the various surfaces of a golf course green, tend to score the polished face of the putter, as well as scrape the other painted surfaces thereof.
Weight distribution in a golf club putter head has been the subject of numerous prior art golf club putter designs for many, years. Unfortunately, the high density material normally used in conventional golf club putters, limits the degree to which weight distribution can be altered without significantly affecting the aesthetic appearance of the putter and without also increasing the overall weight of the putter beyond acceptable limits. Accordingly, there would be a significant advantage in golf club putter head design if material could be found which is both aesthetically pleasing and extremely wear resistant, as well as low density, so that relatively high density materials may be added in selected positions along the golf club putter head for distributing weight in a desired fashion without affecting the appearance or total weight of the golf club putter head.
The prior art known to the applicants comprises the following U.S. Patents which disclose relevant aspects pertaining to the present invention. These include U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,744 to Alcala, U.S. Pat. No. 5,016,883 to Kobiyashi and U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,778 to Douglas. U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,744 is directed to a golf club putter having a lightweight frame made of a resin impregnated fiber material. Suitable resin impregnated fibers include graphite, boron, glass and ceramic. U.S. Pat. No. 5,016,883 is directed to a golf club head which includes a composite body including a porous ceramic body having a plurality of pores formed therein. The principal feature of this invention resides in the use of a composite body of a ceramic sponge and a metal. U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,778 to Douglas is directed to a golf club putter head which is designed to dampen or reduce the rebound of the golf ball from the striking face of the putter. The head of this putter has a laminated golf ball striking face which is secured to the under surface. The laminated striking face includes both an outer resilient layer and an inner resilient layer, the hardness of the inner layer being less than that of the outer layer. The body of the head is made preferably from a metal, a ceramic composite or a graphite composite.